In 1968, America found itself mired in the grip of social, political and racial
upheaval. The Vietnam War was exploding and the body count was broadcast
every night into the dubious comfort of our households. Generations were
clashing, seeing each other as the enemy. Battle lines were being drawn
over the color of a persons skin and the length of their hair. During
this time, "B" movies reigned supreme, churned out of Hollywood
faster than Japan can churn out Pokemon' cards. One of those "B"
movies, a small black and white venture from John Russo (RETURN OF THE
LIVING DEAD)
and George A. Romero (DAWN
OF THE DEAD, DAY OF THE DEAD) would go on to become one of the
most influential and important horror films of all time. It would become
legendary as a film that not only started an entire sub-genre, but also
accurately and without apology, mirrored all the strife that those times
had to offer.

Ben: "You know a place back down the road called Beekman's?
Beekman's Diner?
Anyhow, that's where I found that truck I have out there. There's a radio in the truck. I jumped in to listen, when a big gasoline truck came screaming right across the road! There must've been ten, fifteen of those things chasing after it, grabbing and holding on.

Now I didn't see them at first. I could just see that the truck was moving in a funny way. Those things were catching up to it! The truck went right across the road. I slammed on the brakes to keep from hitting it myself. It went right through the guardrail. I guess. I guess the driver must have cut off the road into that gas station by Beekman's Diner. It went right through the billboard. Ripped over a gas pump and never stopped moving."

That film was NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

The movie's plot is simple enough. A young woman named Barbara (Judith O'Dea) and her
brother, visit their father's grave at a cemetery in the rural backwoods
of Pennsylvania. The first hint of the socio-political commentary this
film has to offer takes place in the first few minutes, as Barbara's brother
mocks her dutiful prayer, derisively scoffing at the very notion of church
or God. For 1968, this was risqué' stuff.

Within minutes, they are attacked by a zombie, which kills her brother. Soon, Barbara
is pursued by several zombies, eager to consume her warm flesh. She takes
shelter in an old farmhouse.

Soon, our heroine has company. The film's hero, Ben (Duane
Jones) arrives on the scene, also seeking refuge in the farmhouse.
Ben was unlike anything ever seen in Hollywood at that point. He was black.
Standard convention advised against having a black man as your main hero.
To compound things, he wasn't a "suburban black man". Nope.
This brother was from the streets, and he let viewers know it.

In the first
twenty minutes of their scene together, Barbara is more scared of Ben
than she is of the ghoulish army encamped outside the house. Again, Romero
perfectly reflected the racial turmoil of the time.

Soon, they are joined by five other refugees from the nightmare, including Harry
Cooper (Karl Hardman) who typifies the average white, middle aged xenophobic businessman of the era, his daughter Karen
(Kyra
Schon) and his wife Helen (Marilyn Eastman),
who is beginning for the first time in her life, to question her husband's
judgement and motives. Again, the movie speaks of deeper issues, touching
on women's liberation and "good old boy" and "old money"
values.

After barricading themselves in the house, cabin fever soon begins to pick at the group, inflicting more damage than even the zombies can do, culminating in a desperate struggle against not only the cannibalistic hordes outside, but against each other as well.

Perhaps the most memorable moment in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, is the ending. Romero provides a conclusion
so shocking and so unexpected, that critics of the era were unsure what
to make of it. Audience reaction at the time was one of strong disbelief.
Another interesting aspect of Romero's "Zombie Mythos", is that
no firm explanation for the dead arising and eating the living is ever
given. In this film, it is speculated that a recent space probe returned
from Venus may have caused the change, due to background radiation (at
the time, America was in the grip of nuclear war fever and the dangers
of radiation were on everyone's mind). In the sequel, DAWN
OF THE DEAD, the cause is hinted at being viral in nature (at
a time when America was starting to wake up to the perils of infectious
disease). By the third movie, DAY OF THE
DEAD, we don't know what the hell is causing it, and the inept remnant
of the government are too busy squabbling amongst themselves to figure
it out (Iran-Contra, Watergate, etc.).

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD truly deserves the praise and acclaim that
has been showered upon it over the past few decades. If ever a horror
movie were a masterpiece, this one is it. An important milestone in cinematic
history and proof of what independent filmmakers can do, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the seminal zombie movie.

E.C. McMullen Jr. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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